Taking chicken off the bone

[feather]

I take chicken off the bone about 15 maybe 20 times per year.

I don't want any bones, parts of bones, even tendons in the meat.

I'm very careful.

Invariably, in the chicken dishes, one person, DH gets a bone, and he complains.

I beat myself with my imperfection, my completely incompetence at taking meat off the bone.

My intentions are good, my ability has much to be desired.

I stopped eating meat/chicken 6 months ago and I am ever even more careful because I'm not the person eating it.

The last time I did this, there were no bones, so DH complained that it was seasoned wrong.

I told him, this was ridiculous and maybe if he had a bone to pick, it should be a bone.

So thanksgiving comes. He is helping, thank you God. He decides to take the turkey off the bone.

He brushes my help away and does it all himself. Since I'm not eating it, I think, well, maybe this is a good thing.

Today he finds a bone in his turkey leftovers.

I tell him he should forgive the perpetrator because it isn't that easy. He says that he will forgive the perpetrator but he can't quite find a way to do that, but once he does, he'll forgive himself.

Something divine in happening.

[deke01]

DW and I are pretty good about sharing the dirty work of the kitchen, but picking the meat off the stock bones is one thing we both tend to avoid, hoping the other one will take the job. I've given up trying to do it with perfection and anything that will take too much effort to separate from the bones goes right into the pig chow bucket. They haven't complained once.

[Mari-in-IN]

I am indeed the "picker" in this household...  He is indeed the "grinner"...  Oh my, where was I going with this??  All of a sudden a song from my childhood has started to resonate through my head............

[deke01]

Nov 25, 2018 23:48:52 GMT Mari-in-IN said:

I am indeed the "picker" in this household...  He is indeed the "grinner"...  Oh my, where was I going with this??  All of a sudden a song from my childhood has started to resonate through my head............

I can't remember, are you Buck Owens or Roy Clark?  

[susannah]

Nov 25, 2018 23:48:52 GMT Mari-in-IN said:

I am indeed the "picker" in this household...  He is indeed the "grinner"...  Oh my, where was I going with this??  All of a sudden a song from my childhood has started to resonate through my head............

And that old Steve Miller song "The Joker" is now floating around in my head, and probably will all night.

On a sort-of-but-not-really-related note, "grinner" always makes me think of possums. The father of one of my friends always called possums "grinners" - I'd never heard anyone else call them that. 

[Mari-in-IN]

Nov 26, 2018 1:00:58 GMT susannah said:

Nov 25, 2018 23:48:52 GMT Mari-in-IN said:

I am indeed the "picker" in this household...  He is indeed the "grinner"...  Oh my, where was I going with this??  All of a sudden a song from my childhood has started to resonate through my head............

And that old Steve Miller song "The Joker" is now floating around in my head, and probably will all night.

On a sort-of-but-not-really-related note, "grinner" always makes me think of possums. The father of one of my friends always called possums "grinners" - I'd never heard anyone else call them that. 

Ok...  yeah, I was asking my husband this evening where that came from in my head -- picker...  grinner...  he said the same thing -- The Steve Miller Band...  He's a few years older than me and is also much better as far as knowing the name of bands and knowing who sang what lyrics back in the day...  As far as the 1970's that is...  I do well as far as the 80's - but I digress...

I just came across this after I Googled "are possums called grinners"

Opossums, or Grinners, as they're commonly referred to in the trapping community, are North America's only marsupial. ... The term “playing possum” is actually legit – a defense mechanism of the possum when threatened.

[Mari-in-IN]

Nov 25, 2018 23:53:15 GMT deke01 said:

Nov 25, 2018 23:48:52 GMT Mari-in-IN said:

I am indeed the "picker" in this household...  He is indeed the "grinner"...  Oh my, where was I going with this??  All of a sudden a song from my childhood has started to resonate through my head............

I can't remember, are you Buck Owens or Roy Clark?  

ETA - I cannot believe that show went on for 26 seasons??  I've started to watch the first episode on YouTube...  Talk about a trip down memory lane...

[Mari-in-IN]

Nov 25, 2018 22:32:56 GMT feather said:

I take chicken off the bone about 15 maybe 20 times per year.

I don't want any bones, parts of bones, even tendons in the meat.

I'm very careful.

Invariably, in the chicken dishes, one person, DH gets a bone, and he complains.

I beat myself with my imperfection, my completely incompetence at taking meat off the bone.

My intentions are good, my ability has much to be desired.

I stopped eating meat/chicken 6 months ago and I am ever even more careful because I'm not the person eating it.

The last time I did this, there were no bones, so DH complained that it was seasoned wrong.

I told him, this was ridiculous and maybe if he had a bone to pick, it should be a bone.

So thanksgiving comes. He is helping, thank you God. He decides to take the turkey off the bone.

He brushes my help away and does it all himself. Since I'm not eating it, I think, well, maybe this is a good thing.

Today he finds a bone in his turkey leftovers.

I tell him he should forgive the perpetrator because it isn't that easy. He says that he will forgive the perpetrator but he can't quite find a way to do that, but once he does, he'll forgive himself.

Something divine in happening.

Sorry if it seemed like I derailed your thread...  Definitely didn't intend to do so...  I must say that I've been in your boat --- my problem is invariably missing those nasty little tendon thingys...  thank goodness I'm the only one to notice though...
And I think it is grand that your husband offered to do that lovely job for you!  I'm the only one that does it around here - but that is ok.

[mzgarden]

I'm the poultry deboner here....and the cooker, broth maker, cookie baker, whatever. Works for me. He has his shop and I have the kitchen and sewing room as my 'shop.' He, on the other hand, is excellent at eating and cleaning up the dishes without complaint. I have it good, even if I do pick meat off the bones, lol.

[feather]

Nov 26, 2018 13:26:46 GMT mzgarden said:

I'm the poultry deboner here....and the cooker, broth maker, cookie baker, whatever. Works for me. He has his shop and I have the kitchen and sewing room as my 'shop.' He, on the other hand, is excellent at eating and cleaning up the dishes without complaint. I have it good, even if I do pick meat off the bones, lol.

See now, I've always been the cooker, broth maker, cookie baker, whatever, myself, usually alone. DH retired this last spring. Now I'm finding him in my kitchen both overly and underly involved, which is not how it used to be. I have found that I do the dishes and put them away for 6 months straight alone, then one day the dishes are put away by him and I started wondering if people were breaking in and putting our dishes away. But then later he humble brags about his great help in the kitchen.  So it's something we are getting used to and there is no rhyme or reason for when he is going to help.

[susannah]

My husband is definitely the chicken bone remover in our house. Always was. I think it's some fascination he has with bones. I've heard there are people who can't stand to see meat on the bone - for any kind of meat. Shoot, I knew one of those people. My husband is the opposite. Well, maybe not so much with chicken, but beef...pork...the man loves chewing on bones. So much so that he pretty much wore our two front teeth and now has dental implants. Really. I can't make things like this up.

feather , I totally get the "both overly and underly involved in the kitchen" thing. It took me awhile to get used to someone constantly hanging out in the kitchen. It turned out my husband's mom hated to cook (and it showed), I love to cook and experiment - and this fascinated him. Plus the fact that food could taste so good, or so he said. And while actual help is always appreciated, there are times when he's just...hovering. Which is kind of weird.

[Skandi]

It is very very rare that I take chicken off the bone. Well not when it is cooked, and it's pretty hard to miss a bone when it's raw. I take all the body bones out before cooking so they can go to the dogs. and there is no way I am removing the leg bones, people can do that themselves! There is only one dish where I do debone it, and that's Tartletter which is an old boiling chicken boiled and boiled, then cut up finely and served in it's thickened boiling water with white asparagus bits in puff pastry cups. I don't think i have ever left a bone in, there's only the two small ones on the drumsticks to miss? I do sometimes miss a bit of the cartilage from the joints. YUCK luckily it's only me that cares.

[Ken]

Nov 25, 2018 22:32:56 GMT feather said:

...

Invariably, in the chicken dishes, one person, DH gets a bone, and he complains.

...

My first thought was, is he actually complaining? Or just commenting?
Then I saw this:

...

The last time I did this, there were no bones, so DH complained that it was seasoned wrong.

...

Does he typically complain about your food?

I guess I am either lucky or my family just knows better than to complain.  If they don't like the way I prepare food (I am the one who usually cooks), they don't eat.  I put a generous amount of time, effort and love into what I fix for my family.  I don't really care to hear complaints.  Critiques, such as, it needs more salt, I don't consider complaining.  Overdone meat, veggies, etc, due to having to help someone do something while I am trying to cook, and then complaining about it?  Not appreciated.

But back to the chicken.  I take the chicken off the bone.  I sometimes eat more of the pickings than goes into the container, but that is the prerogative of the one doing the picking (IMO  ).
Anything that came from a boned animal (including fish) is known by my family to possibly contain bones in the prepared food/leftovers.  My secret to effortless picking of the chicken from bone is to roast the chicken for at least 3 hours on a lower temp.  Not only does that make it super juicy, the meat (sometimes literally) falls off the bone.

[feather]

Ken, not so much complaining, but the bone in the chicken has become a running joke. That there will be at least one bone in the picked chicken and that DH gets it. Now DS has started whining that he doesn't feel special because he doesn't get the bone. If DS does get a bone, he brags about it.

When there is complaining, I either quit making that dish, or at least have DH help make it the next time, tasting while cooking, cutting vegetables, etc, so that the finished product is something he appreciates more. And he generally does appreciate it more.

DH is especially good at eggs over easy so when we want that, he cooks! Also known as a boneless chicken.

[Woodpecker]

I love picking all the chicken off the bones, after I make broth. I always ordered a chicken salad sandwich, when we went out to our favorite lunch place. It was delicious. I found a bone in it! Still go there, but won't ever get that again and I used to really like it

[fwbmama]

I am the "chicken picker" here. DD wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole!. DH does his part by double bagging the bones, skin, etc., taking it to the trash, and supplying me with all the paper towels, drink, containers, whatever else I forgot before my hands got messy....

My chicken picken is done after the chicken is cooked....and broth made...

[motdaugrnds]

ROFL This is such a funny thread! Men in the kitchen? Well it is ok if I'm not in there too! ROFL

Most of the chicken I debone is that I purchase at the store for the dogs. (Won't eat store-bought chicken here!) I slow cook it for about 3 hours with about 2" of water in the bottom of the pan...want the water for the juice as I add oatmeal to it. Then I take a couple of tools and twist to get all the bones out, making sure I get all the little slivers next to the leg and ribs. After the slow cooking, meat just falls off!

[Deleted]

Dec 2, 2018 20:00:27 GMT motdaugrnds said:

I slow cook it for about 3 hours with about 2" of water in the bottom of the pan...After the slow cooking, meat just falls off!

My favorite way to cook chicken is roasted whole, in the oven. Eat a meal of it, then break the carcass up and put in a pot on the wood stove. Sometimes all day. Meat just falls off the bone. Break up the bigger pieces of meat for enchilada casserole. Add vegetables, remaining meat and season (Mrs. Dash) to broth. Bring to boil until vegetables are tender, divide, 1/2 for dumplings and thicken, other 1/2 for chicken and rice soup. I do all the cooking, no one else to blame. Sweetie is the baker but we don't eat as much anymore. She does still make a killer fruit crisp, muffins and sweet corn tortillas....James 

[Ken]

Dec 2, 2018 20:00:27 GMT motdaugrnds said:

ROFL This is such a funny thread! Men in the kitchen?
...

What??

[feather]

Dec 3, 2018 15:57:06 GMT Ken said:

Dec 2, 2018 20:00:27 GMT motdaugrnds said:

ROFL This is such a funny thread! Men in the kitchen?
...

What??

Not everyone here is lucky enough to have men in the kitchen.

[motdaugrnds]

ROFL Ok I give up!! "Some" men do wonders "for" a kitchen! ROFL